The 2019 Unity cultural concert was held last night at the Dorothy Winstone Theatre, Auckland Girls Grammar.
The capacity audience of 750 enthusiastically acknowledged each of the groups and were vocal in their praise for all the performances.
Prefects Darhys Simone and Assina Te Paa-Kolio (pictured right) were wonderful MCs, introducing each of the groups before they performed and having a little fun with the audience while some groups set up.
The evening started with a powerful and disciplined performance by MAGS Kapa Haka, who clearly showed why they were such strong contenders in competition.
This was followed by a beautiful and very lyrical performance by the Chinese group, also incorporating a bit of martial arts at one point.
Next was the Niuean group, who looked stunning in their new costumes and it was lovely to see ex- students and former leaders performing with them. This was followed by a moving duet by Chinese students Kitty and Carl Mu that wowed the audience with its technical expertise and expression.
Then came the very popular Tongan group, again beautifully costumed, colourful and all on stage. They loved performing as much as the audience enjoyed watching.
As a contrast, but with equal colour and energy, the Indian group gave us a quick tour of the many Indian dance styles – cleverly crafted together into one performance by student leader Maitreyi Jaywant.
The Samoan group was next and again a clear crowd favourite. The time they put into their preparation clearly showed as their synchronisation and energy was outstanding. Congratulations to Ms Anisi and student leaders Theresa Anisi, Siana Vagana and Tali Afele. The beautiful lyrical quality of the girls’ performance was contrasted by a rousing sasa, and special mention must be made of Ezra Purcell, who was highly entertaining in his role of Fa’aluma.
The final item for the evening was the Cook Island group. Again beautifully costumed and performing with sheer joy shown on their faces at the opportunity to share their culture with us all. Their performance finished with the ever-popular Around the World, and they invited members of the audience to come and perform with them.
Director of Arts Co-curricular Jacqui Cesan said, “All in all, this was an outstanding representation of culture at Mount Albert Grammar and we look forward to an outstanding representation at PolyFest in 2020.”
